Happy Birthday Mr. Mandela

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. I detest racialism because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.” Nelson Mandela, in Long Walk To Freedom, 1995

It’s probably all been said already (and in much better ways than we could) but we’d like to add our wishes for a hugely Happy Birthday to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Born on this day in 1918, Madiba turns a sprighlty 91 today. Happy, happy birthday!

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and non-violence, racism and human dignity, oppression and repression and liberty and human rights, poverty and freedom from want.Nobel Prize acceptance speech (1993)

Perhaps it was history that ordained that it be here, at the Cape of Good Hope that we should lay the foundation stone of our new nation. For it was here at this Cape, over three centuries ago, that there began the fateful convergence of the peoples of Africa, Europe and Asia on these shores.Inaugural speech (1994)

(This post is also an effort to get “Mandela” into the Twitter Trending Topics lists for today. Preferably above things like “Spongebob” and “Hannah Montana” (have children and tweens taken Twitter over?!) and the now passé “Michael Jackson”. Please help by ReTweeting, and adding your Birthday message to Mandela in our comments here and on your own blogs and sites!)